New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, left, and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia watch during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game against the Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Matt Patricia will be the latest in a long line of head coaches attempting to fix the Lions.

His background: A hotshot defensive coordinator for a dynasty, the New England Patriots.

The fact Patricia has been mentored by Bill Belichick can viewed two ways.

Belichick is arguably the greatest NFL coach of all-time. Some of it, beyond an affinity for hoodies, must have rubbed off, right?

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Yet, Belichick’s disciples, especially from the Patriots, generally haven’t had similar success.

The obvious exception: Nick Saban, perhaps the greatest college coach ever, who cut his teeth as Belichick’s defensive coordinator decades ago in Cleveland. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz was also on that Browns’ staff.

But from the Patriots, there is Bill O’Brien and Charlie Weis. Josh McDaniels (who is about to get another NFL chance) and Romeo Crennel. Jim Schwartz is from Belichick’s Cleveland days. Where have you gone Eric Mangini?

The Patriots’ general manager tree hasn’t been overly impressive, either. So general manager Bob Quinn and Patricia will be carrying a similar flag with the Lions.

Patricia will join an eclectic group of Lions’ head coach the past 50-plus years. It includes a former hot shot defensive coordinator (Schwartz) and a top defensive assistant on a Super Bowl champion (Rod Marinelli). Wayne Fontes was the Lions’ defensive coordinator when named interim head coach, which he parlayed into a nine-year gig. Darryl Rogers was a highly-regarded college coach.

Marty Mornhinweg and Steve Mariucci had strong ties to Mike Holmgren, Monte Clark to Don Shula, Jim Caldwell to Tony Dungy, Rick Forzano to Paul Brown and Fontes to John McKay. It was Forzano, a longtime Oakland County resident, who hired Belichick to his first full-time assistant coaching position in the NFL.

Shula was the Lions’ defensive coordinator before becoming an NFL head coach with the Colts. Kevin Colbert was one of their top scouts when hired as the Steelers’ general manager and winning two Super Bowls. The Lions are as well-known for letting top football people get away as missing on their hires, but curiously enough not in regard to departing head coaches.

But they have tried just about everything. Don McCafferty did what Shula couldn’t - coach a Super Bowl champion for Baltimore. He led the Lions to one under .500 season and died the following summer of a heart attack while mowing his lawn. The Lions tried network TV with Matt Millen as GM, which was truly an epic disaster. Bobby Ross and Jim Caldwell took previous teams to the Super Bowl and lost. Everybody wanted Mariucci when the Lions landed him from the 49ers for a then-record five-year, $25 million contract. Mariucci was fired during his third season - and hasn’t coached since.

There certainly is no guarantee Patricia will be different. A plus is his relationship from the Patriots to Quinn. The Lions have been notorious for having coaches and GMs on the different pages, particularly during the Russ Thomas and Millen eras.

Patricia has an excellent resume. The Patriots tend to put more resources on the offensive side of the ball, and yet have been consistently strong defensively under Patricia’s watch.

Then again, has it been Patricia’s watch or Belichick’s? After all, Belichick was one of the most decorated D-coordinators of all time.

Truth is, there is no perfect resume for an NFL head coach. You just don’t know until he is in place.